‘Doctor Who’ Recap: Hello, My Name Is…

“The Name of the Doctor” isn’t the important part of the season seven finale of “Doctor Who,” despite being the episode’s title. The episode is actually a loving and well crafted tribute to the history of the show as it leads up to celebrating its 50th anniversary.

We open on Gallifrey, a very long time ago. The Doctor and Susan are stealing a faulty Tardis. Clara, dressed as some sort of fantastic Gallifreyan go-go dancer, stops him, saying he’s making a huge mistake.

There’s a montage. Clara is in the background of scenes featuring all the classic Doctors. She is costumed in awesome period-appropriate clothing and graded to fit in with the slightly dodgy film quality.

She explains in a voiceover that she was born to save the Doctor.

Meanwhile, there’s a man in prison in 1893. Madame Vastra visits him and he warns her that “The Doctor has a secret he’ll take to the grave, and it is discovered.”

Vastra gathers the troops in a psychic conference-call dream. The faceless Whisper Men hover in the background, but only Jenny seems to notice them out of the corner of her eye. In the conference call Clara and River meet for the first time. There’s the usual tension that comes when the wife meets the new girlfriend…er, traveling assistant.

Vastra says the prisoner offered space time coordinates of the Doctor’s greatest secret in return for his life. River wants to know exactly what the prisoner said.

Meanwhile, the Whisper Men kidnap the sleeping Vastra, Jenny and Strax. The face of Dr. Simeon, the Great Intelligence, appears to River and Clara in the dream-call. He tells them the Doctor needs to go to Trenzalore to save his friends.

Clara wakes up. She tells the Doctor what happened and he is distraught. Clara wants to know what’s so special about Trenzalore.

The Doctor says it’s the one place he should never go–it’s where he’s buried.

Clara says he can’t go then, but he says he must save his friends. On Trenzalore, the landscape is covered with the graves. On the horizon is a giant Tardis. He is buried inside.

River suddenly appears. She left the psychic connection open between herself and Clara, so only she can see her. The Doctor finds a headstone marked “River Song.” Clara says that’s impossible, she met her. The Doctor assures her River’s been dead a long time. River apologizes for not bringing it up sooner to Clara.

River’s grave is a secret entrance to the catacombs under the Tardis.

As Clara and the Doctor walk, she asks more about his dead wife. He admits he made a backup file when River died. Ghost River says she’s sad he never said goodbye.

Whisper men chase the Doctor and Clara further toward the Tardis.

Clara is disoriented. She starts remembering the events from “Journey to the Centre of the Tardis,” where the Doctor told her he’d seen her die twice before.

The Doctor and Clara find Vastra, Jenny and Strax outside the Tardis doors. Simeon explains that the key to opening the Tardis is the Doctor’s name. The Doctor refuses to open his tomb. Simeon commands his Whisper Men to attack the Doctor’s friends.

The Tardis doors suddenly open. Ghost River appears. The Tardis can still hear her and she’s the one who said his name, off screen where the audience didn’t hear.

They all walk inside the control room. In the middle where the console should be is instead a twisting spiral of light. It’s the scar the Doctor’s left, traveling through time and space so much, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore.

The Doctor collapses from the paradox. Simeon jumps inside the scar, planning to rewrite the Doctor’s entire life. We see the earlier montage of Clara, now with Simeon in her place.

The Doctor writhes in pain as he is killed throughout his timeline.

Clara realizes she needs to jump into the scar to save the Doctor. He begs her not to, but she knows she’s already done it. It’s what makes her impossible. With the words, “Run, you clever boy, and remember me,” Souffle Girl jumps.

Clara reenters her earlier montage. She lives a thousand lives, always saving the Doctor. We see her warning the First Doctor again. She’s actually pointing out our favorite Tardis, complete with her knackered navigation system.

The Doctor is better for Clara restoring the timeline. Ghost River realizes he can see her. They kiss, which must be awkward for everyone else who can’t see her. With a “Goodbye, Sweetie,” she fades away. The Doctor jumps.

Clara saves the Doctor throughout the timeline. She lands on the ground as the ghosts of Doctor’s past run by her. The Eleventh Doctor lands by her and grabs her. A shadowy figure appears on screen. Clara says she’s never seen that face of the Doctor’s, and she’s seen them all. The Doctor says that’s the one who breaks the code of doctoring, his greatest secret. The man says he had to do what he did. He turns around. On screen the words appear: Introducing John Hurt as the Doctor.

To be continued Nov. 23, in the 50th Anniversary Special.

What did you think of this week’s episode and the season overall? Are you satisfied with what Clara turned out to be? Are you excited to see John Hurt Doctor in action? Leave your thoughts in the comments.